HART OF DIXIE PILOT by Leila Gerstein Studio Draft 12/9/2010 ACT ONE FADE IN: EXT. GULF COAST HIGHWAY 180 - MORNING The SUN SHINES over a quiet, exquisite stretch of Alabama coastline. Out on the water, FISHERMEN pull in the morning’s catch. A LONE PELICAN takes off from the water. We FOLLOW IT to A GREYHOUND BUS winding down the seaside road. INT. GREYHOUND BUS - SAME Not quite so exquisite. We’re in an UNSEEN PERSON’S POV as we watch TWO 12-YEAR OLDS fight over a Gameboy, AN OLD MAN spit chew into a Dr. Pepper can, and A FAT FISHERMAN sleep with his mouth wide open, as he DROOLS INTO FRAME... and REVERSE TO REVEAL we are in the POV of ZOE HART, 28, an adorable, spoiled New Yorker, who at that moment would rather be anywhere but on this particular bus. ZOE'S VOICE See the girl in the $2200 Chanel jacket now covered in Mountain Dew and Disease? That’s me, Zoe Hart. As Zoe pushes her seat-mate off her shoulder, we PUSH TOWARD the BACK OF THE BUS, where A LARGE TEENAGER IN A CRIMSON TIDE SHIRT exits the bathroom, passing an OLD LADY on her way in. LARGE TEENAGER Wouldn’t go in there for a while if I was you, Ma’am. Had a bucket of Popeyes for breakfast. The old lady sits back down. Zoe, disgusted, looks out the window, as scenes of Coastal Alabama peak through the trees. A ROADHOUSE advertises GULF’S BEST PO’BOYS AND COLDEST BEER. OLD MEN sit on a front porch, shooting the breeze and shooing flies. A sign out front of a CHURCH reads “SAVING ISN’T JUST FOR WALMART.” Over this-- ZOE'S VOICE Yesterday I woke up on West 24th street, bought a tall skinny latte, took a cab to my job at the most prestigious hospital in the country. A HUNTER hoists a deer carcass into the cab of his PICKUP. ZOE'S VOICE (CONT’D) But I guess I should start at the beginning... 2 EXT. JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICAL SCHOOL - FOUR YEARS AGO - DAY It’s graduation day, proud near-doctors, prouder parents. ZOE'S VOICE Four years ago, I graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School at the top of my class. CLOSE ON a YOUNGER ZOE, poised, supremely confident, clearly a star, making a commencement speech from a podium. ZOE The first time I held a scalpel, I was nine. We were hosting a party for some of my mother’s celebrity clients. While the chef prepared squab for Calista Flockhart and Bono, my dad and I snuck off and dissected ours. I was enthralled. My mother, as you can imagine, was apoplectic... As the AUDIENCE CHUCKLES, we FIND Zoe’s mom, CANDACE, a high- powered publicist, with her young, vapid, MODEL BOYFRIEND. MODEL BOYFRIEND You were worried she’d cut herself? CANDACE I was worried about this. That my beautiful daughter would follow in the steps of her withholding, weasel of a father. What kind of life is surgery? Slicing people open a hundred hours a week under florescent lights? And lord knows what it’ll do to her skin. MODEL BOYFRIEND Good point. As Candace fixes his collar, AT THE PODIUM, Zoe concludes her speech. YOUNGER ZOE It was a big night for me, because I also got to meet my hero, Mets great Dwight Gooden. I was nine, shy, small talk was beyond me. But if Doc Gooden were here today, I'd tell him that being a great surgeon is a lot like being a great pitcher. (MORE) 3 YOUNGER ZOE (CONT'D) To succeed you need to treat the patient like a batter at the plate - diagnose the conditions, focus on precision... and do your best to shut him out. As we CUT TO a slightly bewildered crowd. ZOE'S VOICE Some future pediatricians might have thought my speech was a little callous. DISSOLVE TIME as Zoe is congratulated by a group of young surgeons - all slightly better looking, better dressed, and more intimidating than the other graduates - including Zoe’s HANDSOME BOYFRIEND, and BEST FRIEND... ZOE'S VOICE (CONT’D) But the real doctors, the surgeons, totally got my point. And I even got a groupie out of it. As the graduates celebrate, a sweet Southern man, HARLEY WILKES, 60, in bow tie and hat, calls out to Zoe. HARLEY WILKES Dr. Hart? That was quite a speech. It showed a lot of... hubris. ZOE Thank you! HARLEY WILKES My name Dr. Harley Wilkes. I come from BlueBell, Alabama. ZOE BlueBell? That’s adorable. HARLEY WILKES Have a small general practice there. A great town with great people, and a great place for a young doctor to hone her craft under my mentorship. I’d like to offer you a job. ZOE That’s incredibly flattering. And I’m sure your town is lovely. But I have a plan. After I complete my surgical residency, I’ll get a fellowship in thoracics go on to become a cardio-thoracic surgeon. (MORE) 4 ZOE (CONT'D) My last name is Hart, it’s like predestined. So, though your offer is so sweet, dealing with diarrhea and diaper rash just isn’t my thing. But thanks! Really. Glad you liked my speech. A slightly hurt Harley watches as Zoe runs over to Candace and her model boyfriend. Candace gives her a perfunctory hug as Zoe looks around, hopeful -- ZOE (CONT’D) So, where’s Dad? CANDACE Sorry, honey, you know him. Stuck in Germany. Some diplomatic needed a pacemaker put in. His assistant sent you a congratulatory fax, though. Zoe’s disquieted for a moment, but recovers as her BOYFRIEND and BEST FRIEND join the group... She kisses them both as-- ZOE'S VOICE I had it all: the most amazing boyfriend and a kick ass BFF who were just as driven as I was. Best part was, the three of us all landed the same residency program. INT. GREYHOUND BUS - MORNING Back on the Alabama bus. Zoe’s seat-mate is now feasting on cheese curls, kicking up a tiny cloud of orange dust. ZOE'S VOICE Well, it's four years later and you know I wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere, sitting next to a guy who smells like Cheetos and chum, if it had turned out like I hoped. INT. ZOE’S APARTMENT - A YEAR AGO - NIGHT The LIVING ROOM of her stylish apartment has been taken over by medical stuff -- TEXT BOOKS and ANATOMICAL CHARTS. A CLOSE-UP on a FRUIT BOWL reveals a weird assortment of FRANKENSTEIN FRUIT that Zoe has been using to practice her sutures. In the DINING ROOM, Zoe and her BOYFRIEND sit at a beautiful CANDLELIT DINNER. He gives her a long MOS SPEECH. As we watch Zoe go from annoyed to surprised to heartbroken-- 5 ZOE'S VOICE Last Valentines Day, my boyfriend dumped me. And it wasn't just because I practiced mattress sutures on the Chicken Cordon Bleu he spent all day making me. He said that all I cared about was being the best. That I was too busy, too cutthroat, too self-involved for him. Which maybe I was, cause it seemed I was the last to know he replaced me with… INT. MT SINAI HOSPITAL - DAY Zoe’s NOW-EX BOYFRIEND walks through the hospital arm in arm with Zoe's NOW-FORMER BEST FRIEND. ANGLE Zoe, watching-- ZOE'S VOICE Sure, it hurt. It more than hurt-- INT. BARNEY’S - DAY Zoe SOBS to her mother. ZOE -- it feels like someone pulled out my intestines and tied them around my throat! CANDACE Honey, go and compose yourself. Candace looks around, hoping no one witnessed Zoe’s public spectacle. INT. BARNEY’S DRESSING ROOM - CONTINUOUS A more composed Zoe blows her nose as Candace enters. CANDACE I'll give you the same advice I gave Jennifer Aniston. Even if it feels like smiling will take every ounce of effort you have, you put on your makeup, you show those pearly whites and you get through the day. ZOE'S VOICE So I did. INT. MT. SINAI HALLWAY - DAY Zoe walks purposefully through the hall, reading charts, delegating to interns. 6 She passes a GROUP SURROUNDING HER EX-BOYFRIEND AND FORMER BEST FRIEND. Wondering what they're seeing, she looks and is blinded by AN ENORMOUS DIAMOND on her ex best friend's finger… Zoe looks away, determined not to let it get to her. ZOE'S VOICE I kept strong. Held it together. I could, because I was about to leave those lovebird losers in the dust - I was a shoo in for... CHIEF OF SURGERY (PRELAP) ...the Reuther fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery. INT. NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN/CORNELL WEILL HOSPITAL - DAY A beaming, confident Zoe standing amidst a group of doctors as the chief of Surgery announces... CHIEF OF SURGERY We thought long and hard over this decision, but I am proud to say the new fellow is... Eve Coburn! As Zoe’s EX-BEST FRIEND claps with delight, we CLOSE IN ON Zoe's mouth, as she let's out a PRIMAL SCREAM. INT. NEW YORK/CORNELL HOSPITAL - CHIEF’S OFFICE - DAY An indignant Zoe pleads with a placid Chief of Surgery. ZOE But I’m the best surgical resident in this hospital. I run the fastest whipstitch, already did a solo angioplasty. Plus, I’m legacy, my dad was a Reuther fellow before he went on to the be the most renowned heart surgeon in Europe.